Institute for Biblical & Scientific Studies

The Bible:
Apocrypha

Apocrypha in Greek means "hidden." There are the Old Testament
Apocrypha books and the New Testament Apocrypha books. Usually Apocrypha
refers to the 15 books that were not part of the Hebrew cannon of scripture.
During the Reformation Christian Bibles collected these 15 books after the
Old Testament under the title Apocrypha (Old Testament). For the Catholics
these 15 books were added to the Old Testament canon at the Counsel of Rome,
382 AD. Catholics refer to the Pseudepigrapha as the Apocrypha.

Old Testament (15)

1 Esdras

2 Esdras (4 Ezra)

Tobit - It is the story of events that happened to Tobit
after he was taken away into Assyrian captivity. He is reduced to poverty
and blindness because he buried Jews killed by the Assyrians. The Angel
Raphael is sent to help defeat the demons and heal Tobit.

Judith - It is the story of a beautiful and pious women who entices
and then assassinates Holofernes, the Assyrian general who was besieging
Bethulia, her hometown. There is a confusion of names and events. It probably
reflects the defeat of Seleucid general Nicanor by Judah the Maccabee
(161 BC).

Additions to the book of Esther

Wisdom of Solomon

Ecclesiasticus (Wisdom of Ben Sirach)

Baruch

A Letter of Jeremiah

(Additions to the book of Daniel, 10-12)

Song of the Three Children (with the Prayer of Azariah)

Susanna

Bel and the Dragon

Prayer of Manasseh

1 Maccabees

2. Maccabees

New Testament Apocrypha

A number of new apocrypha books have come to light since the discovery
of 12 books at Nag Hammadi in 1945. They are called The
Nag Hammadi Library. The most famous of these is Gospel of Thomas (see
below). Sometimes these books along with some Pseudepigrapha books are called
the "Lost Books of the Bible." Most of these were not lost, they
were just never considered canonical. The New Testament Apocrypha books
can be divided up according to genres as the New Testament is; gospels,
Acts, letters or epistles, and prophesy or apocalypse.

Apocryphal Gospels

There were a number of gospels written in the second century AD. or later
called the Apocryphal Gospels. There are 22, of which 10 are written in
Greek and 12 in Latin. These can be divided into three categories: those
relating to the history of Mary and Joseph, the infancy of Christ, and the
history of Pilate. Most of these are based on the Protevangelium of James,
the Gospel of Thomas, and the Acts of Pilate. Collection
of Apocryphal Gospels.

Gospel of Thomas - Some may refer to the Gospel of Thomas as
the fifth gospel. This is a Gnostic writing, though some scholars may
see some of the sayings of Jesus in this gospel as genuine. There are
114 sayings of Jesus in the Gospel of Thomas. For more information see
Gospel of Thomas.

The Infancy Gospel of Thomas

The Protoevangelium of James

The Gospel of Mary

The Gospel of Peter

The Gospel of Philip

The Gospel of Nicodemus

The Gospel of Hebrews

The Gospel of the Egyptians

The Gospel of the Ebionites

The Gospel of the Nazoreans

Apocryphal Acts

Scholars usually divide the apocrypha Acts into two groups; the five books
attributed to Leucius Charinus, and the others.